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Wednesday, June 14, 2017

Expounding the Meaning of Deuteronomy 10:8 (PART 1 of 3)

“At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, and to bless in his name, unto this day.”

This is a verse Abba Father God showed me to read. I feel that He would like His Church to understand more about this particular verse. I don’t claim to know anything except what God showed me. He will reveal things to any who ask Him (Jer. 33:3). In Jeremiah 33:3, God said: "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not."Now, let's look at the first part of the Deuteronomy 10:8. It says:

“At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi, to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD,...”

God separated us Christians from the world, like the children of Israel being separated from Egypt in Exodus. God may have separated us from people we were close to so that we could fulfill God’s purposes and calling in our lives. When God calls you to do something for His Kingdom, there will be people that will naysay it, without having anything doctrinally sound to say against it. Some people may want to keep us from doing God’s best will. They may say that being a missionary to China is “dangerous,” or that leaving a church is “unbiblical,” or that choosing to not take a certain job offer is “foolish.” But, doing God’s best will may look foolish from the point of view of the carnal mind (Romans 8:5-8).

It looked “foolish” for Paul to join the first Christians. After all, Paul (Saul) was on his way to becoming a Pharisee, and would have been looked up to by the upper crust Jews in Jerusalem. Though he was strongly opposed by those Pharisees, Paul did not cave in to them. He was willing to die for the sake of God's best will, if it came to that. Being separated from the world, unto God, is necessary to have fellowship with Him and to be in Abba God’s best will.

What did God separate Christians for? There are three things Deuteronomy 10:8 speaks of. We will discuss them in this series of articles. In this article we will look at what it symbolically means to bear the Ark of the Covenant.

Bearing the Ark of the Covenant

The priests were called to "bear theark of the covenant of the LORD”. Inside the ark were the Ten Commandments written into stone tablets by God's finger. There were other items too, but we will focus on the stone tablets with the commandments and their spiritual meaning.God writes His Word into our hearts when we are born-again.Jeremiah 31:33 says: "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people."
Now that God's law is in our hearts (if we are a true Christian), we feel convicted of sin and feel convicted of what is right and what is wrong. As we read God's Word (the Bible), we get reminded of what is right and what is wrong, and of Who Abba God is, and of what He has done for us through Jesus.

That happens by meditating on God’s Word, the Bible. As we meditate on God’s Word, and obey it, we will be placing its Truth into our hearts. Jesus said to the wicked Pharisees that "...out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." [Matthew 12:34] “O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

What is in our heart will come out from our mouths and by our actions. We, then, need to guard and protect our hearts. Proverbs 4 teaches …

Proverbs 4:23-27

“[23] Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. [24] Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lipsputfar from thee. [25] Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. [26] Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. [27] Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil.” [End quote]

Now, if we are keeping our feet, eyes, mouths, and hearts from evil, what should we focus on? What should we walk according to? What should we spiritually feed ourselves? Psalm 1:2 says: “But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

What is the result when we meditate on Abba God’s Word (which is based on the Ten Commandments)?Psalm 1:3 says: “And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Whatever we shall do, if we are walking in agreement with God’s Word, and delighting in it, will certainly prosper because it is of God and for God’s glory. If we delight in God’s Word, then we will naturally obey God’s Word. As we delight in God’s Word, we will have rest of spirit and rest of soul because the devil will lose more and more of his ground to attack and tempt us.

Dealing with the Attacks of the Devil

The devil gets legal ground to attack us in, when we give place to the devil by way of thoughts, words, beliefs, and actions we take. That is why God told us (through Paul) this great spiritual truth for victory over the devil:
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
"[3] For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
[4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
[5] Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;"
In old dictionaries, the words "thought" and "thoughtful" include anxiety (feelings), ideas, desires, plans, and passing thoughts. The Greek word for thought includes those meanings too [See Endnote]. Therefore, Abba God is saying to surrender to Him every thought, feeling, desire, plan, and imagination if it would not be honoring to Him. That way, we will have victory over the devil and over his snares.
In Part 2, we will look at and expound the second part of Deuteronomy 10:8, which says: "At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi,..., to stand before the LORD to minister unto him, ....” We will discuss what ministering to God is, and what it isn't. And, we will show that it is about fellowship with Abba God, and not works.

If you are coming here as a non-Christian, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

________________________

Endnote:

Abba means: 'Abbá – "Father," also used as the term of tender endearment by a beloved child – i.e. in an affectionate, dependent relationship with their father; "daddy," "papa."' (http://biblehub.com/greek/5.htm)

The Accuracy of the Holy Scriptures

The translators of the King James Version were led by God in translating God's holy Word, the Bible, in the King James Version. It is accurate to the vast majority of Greek Bible texts. God promised in Psalm 12 to preserve His holy Scripture, and He did.

The Old Definition of "Thought"

Old dictionaries from the early 19th century, such as Webster's 1828 dictionary, give a lot more meaning to the English word "thought." For its definition of "thought," the 1828 dictionary includes "Idea" and "Design; purpose." Also, this dictionary included "Anxious" for a definition of "thoughtful." Today, we don't think of thoughtful as being related to the feeling of anxiety. Words slowly change their meaning over time. It is certain that the word for "thought" in the 1600s included feelings. Like the older use of the word "thought" or "thoughtful," the Greek word for thought (noéma) includes "a thought, purpose, design; the mind; the heart, soul, feelings." (Strong's.)

CALIFORNIA FIRES --- PRAYER NEEDED FOR CALIFORNIA and the UNITED STATES

Over 191,000 acres have burned across California. The official death total is 31 (as of Oct. 12, 2017). At least 3,500 homes and other buildings have been burned down. Entire neighborhoods were burned to the ground, including schools, houses, businesses, valuables, and cars.

And, brothers and sisters in Christ, these people in California need our prayers, and they need to turn to Jesus for salvation. (Let's remember also the people in Puerto Rico, Mexico, South Sudan, and flood victims in Asia.)

HURRICANE IRMA, THE MEXICAN 8.1 EARTHQUAKE, AND THE SOUTH ASIAN FLOODS

Prayer is needed for the suffering people in Florida, Mexico, Cuba, Texas, India, the Caribbean, and in other regions who lost loved ones, homes, possessions, and livelihoods.

These are signs of the times in which we live, too. God is preparing people for the tribulation which is coming in the near future. Jesus Christ spoke of catastrophic events in the book of Matthew 24. We are starting to see the beginning of them.

Now is a time to seek God and repent from sin He convicts us about. It is a time to get to know God as our Abba Father and best Friend. If we are not saved, or if we have not made Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord, now is the time to do it. Tomorrow may be to late for some.

Jesus Christ said: "... and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." (John 6:37.)

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